To Walk the World Alone
by Schmitty63
Summary: Percy's world has been destroyed by a god. He has to save the world yet again, and this time is going to be his toughest challenge yet. This is my first true angst story I've written. I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters. They are the property of Rick Riordan.
1. Chapter 1: The World Crumbles

"Today marks the second anniversary of the strongest earthquake on record. What made the quake even deadlier was the fact that that the epicenter was in the center of New York City. The 9.8 quake killed over 200 people, and 23 people were never found…"

I tuned out the news broadcast after that. Had it already been two years since that day? Two years since I experienced a hell worse than Tartarus? Two years since they died? I rolled over to my other side and closed my eyes, trying to sleep without the nightmares.

I can still see them, my step-dad Paul, my mother, and Annabeth. Bound and gagged, held hostage by the goddess Akhlys, being tortured right in front of me. She had poisoned me when I came into my mom's apartment, paralyzing me and making it almost impossible to use my powers. I was helpless as I watched as she poisoned, whipped and cut my family.

Akhlys was getting her revenge, from when I almost killed her in Tartarus. I almost suffocated her with her own poison, and she was back and going to do the same to the ones I loved.

I tried all I could to break free of my paralysis. I tried to push the poison through my system. Concentrating it to only one area so the rest of me was free to move. I even tried to push it out of a cut on my forehead, but no luck. All I could do was lay on the floor of my mom's living room while I watched her drag a blade across the cheek of my mom. She poured a poison down Paul's throat that caused him such excruciating pain that I can still hear his screams and pleas for mercy.

What she did to Annabeth, however, will haunt me for the rest of my days. Annabeth was sitting in the middle of a pool of poisons, the same poisons that I almost killed the goddess with. I watched as Annabeth choked on the fumes, slowly dying a painful death. But she didn't get a quick and easy death. When she was on the brink, almost to the point of no return, the poison would pull away and Annabeth would be able to breathe.

I wanted to destroy Akhlys with every fiber of my being, I prayed to all of the gods to help me in some way, but no one answered my prayers, not even my father. I begged them, I even bargained, my life for theirs. I pleaded them to save at least Annabeth, to take me instead.

The first voice to be permanently was Paul. Eventually the poison he was forced to ingest became too much for him and with one final cry for mercy, he fell to the ground and was silent. My mom was the next one to fall victim to this cruel game of revenge. After Akhlys cut into her leg, she put poison into the cut. Within seconds, my mother looked at me one last time, smiled, and told me she loved me. Then she fell to the floor, and she was gone too.

Annabeth was the strongest, or Akhlys wanted to save her for last. By this point my throat was so raw that I could barely speak. I begged Akhlys, pleaded with her to spare Annabeth. I told her I would say or do anything for Annabeth's life, but the goddess only looked at me with an evil smile. She told me, "No one crosses me, now you are going to learn why it was a mistake to make an enemy of me."

She walked over to Annabeth, bent down and grabbed her face and forced Annabeth to look at me. "It's a shame that such a beauty has to die. Especially when she was going to have such good news for you."

"What do you mean Akhlys? What good news?"

The goddess looked at Annabeth, "Go on, tell him."

Annabeth refused to say anything, only clenching her jaw tighter.

Akhlys clicked her tongue, "So stubborn, well I guess I get to do the honors then." She stood up and walked over and kneeled down to get close to my face. "Do you remember how your girlfriend here had a doctor's appointment today?"

"What about it?"

"Well aren't you curious about why she went to the doctor? Well, she went to go have some tests run. Oh, and look, here they are!" She reached up to the table that I had hit my head on earlier and set down a stack of papers in front of my face. At the bottom I saw one word and my stomach plummeted. _Pregnant_.

I looked up to Annabeth, and there were tears in her eyes. She started shaking her head, "I was going to tell you tonight, but Akhlys..." She choked on her words after that. I felt my anger rise even more, I felt a fire in my belly rage to an inferno. I tried with all of my power to help her somehow. But nothing was happening.

Akhlys came around and sat next to Annabeth again. "Now Percy Jackson, I am going to take everything from you. Then I will kill you slowly. I am going to enjoy this immensely."

In her hand, a vial appeared, it was filled with a dark liquid that looked like liquid death. She held it out and said, "This is the most deadly poison there is. Brewed in the depths of Tartarus. It has a mixture of most venoms from dangerous creatures and poisonous plants in the world. I brewed it especially for this occasion."

She grabbed Annabeth's face and forced her mouth open, and slowly poured the poison down her throat. I could see the pain in her eyes, I started crying and screaming for her. My heart was tearing itself into a thousand pieces. I felt an anger that I had never felt before. My world was shaking, and falling apart.

Akhlys started looking around, with a scared look on her face. "Stop that! How are you doing this?"

I looked around, trying to figure out what she was talking about. Then I realized, it wasn't just my world that was shaking and falling apart, the entire room was. I felt a surge of strength and I felt the pull in my gut that I pushed the poison out of my body. It oozed from my head wound, it came out in my tears, it even seeped out of my pours.

I stood up and walked toward her with the entire apartment shaking. I took a glance out the window and in the brief moment I saw the buildings in the city swaying like trees in a hurricane. The ground looked like the ocean in a big storm, waves that were taller than some buildings. Explosions were going off everywhere from broken gas lines, it looked like a scene from a bad sci-fi movie. I was causing this earthquake, an actual earthquake. I kept walking toward the goddess and grabbed her by the throat. For the second time, I looked into her eyes and saw sheer terror.

I looked down to Annabeth and saw that she was suffering. "FIX HER!" I screamed into the goddess' face.

She shook her head, "It is too late there is no cure for her poison. Enjoy your time while you can demigod"

My grip loosened a small amount, and she took advantage of that. She twisted my wrist breaking my hold on her throat and quickly vanished into shadows. The room was still shaking, and when I fell to the floor to hold Annabeth, I started crying.

Tears splashed all on Annabeth's face, I started yelling out for help. I knew that no one would be able to come help in time. I felt a soft hand on my face, looking down I looked into the stormy gray eyes that I had fallen in love with. They were filled with tears when she spoke. "Percy, don't feel sorry for me. I'm sorry that we couldn't have our happy ending, but the time I spent with you has been the best of my life. Don't lose yourself alright? I'll wait for you in Elysium. But if you get there quickly, I'm going to kick your butt every day until the end of time. I expect to see you when you are old and gray. Got it?"

I shook my head violently, "I can't do that Annabeth, I can't go on without you. I cannot promise you anything."

She pulled my head down so our lips could meet. I held the kiss as long as I could. As if the kiss could cure her. Eventually she pushed me away a bit and with a small smile, she looked into my eyes and said, "Percy Jackson, I love you. Don't lose yourself, okay?"

I nodded a bit, "I promise Annabeth."

"Swear it on the Styx."

More tears rolled down my cheeks, "I swear on the River Styx, I won't lose myself."

She gave me one last smile, then she let out her breath, and she was gone.

When I came to my senses I wasn't in my mom's apartment anymore. I was underwater in my father's palace. I looked around my bed and I saw my half-brother Tyson. He looked like he had been crying for a while, his lone eye was blood shot. When he saw that I was awake he scooped me up in a huge hug and I thought my ribs would break.

"Tyson, gentle! I can't breathe!"

He released me and stepped back a step. "I am sorry brother. I thought you were dead."

"What happened? Where is Annabeth?" I asked. I looked around hoping that I would find her.

"Tyson, why don't you go prepare for our departure," a deep calm voice came from behind me. I turned around and saw Poseidon, my father, walking toward us. His usual tropical shirt and shorts replaced with a black suit. His usual happy looking face was sullen and eyes puffy.

When Tyson left, my father walked up to me and put his hands on my shoulders. "Son, I want to give you the most sincere apology that I can give. Athena and I tried to come help you and Annabeth, but Akhlys had allies that surrounded the entire block completely impenetrable to any immortal, and by the time we got word to your friends the earthquake had started and it was impossible for anyone to even get close to Manhattan."

"What of Annabeth? Mom? Paul?" I asked as I felt my stomach become an even deeper pit than before. My world fell from under me when his head sunk and he shook his head.

"It was too late for us to reach you. It took all of the gods' power to break the magic barrier and I had to transport you down here before you caused Manhattan to be completely destroyed. You are the only survivor."

I couldn't believe my ears, they were all dead. I couldn't speak

He continued, "The funeral for your mother and Paul will be in an hour. The gods have seen to it that Annabeth receives a hero's funeral on Olympus. It will be later tonight. I have a suit for you if you wish to go. But if you need to stay down here and be alone, we all understand."

"No, I need to go. I need to see them. Can we get Grover and the rest of my friends?"

He nodded, "Anything else"

I thought for a second, "I don't know how well I will handle this. If I start losing control, can you get me out of there?"

He thought for a second, "Zeus may not like it, but I think he will agree that, given the circumstances, it is for the best if we transport you somewhere for everyone's safety."

I was glad that my father would help me out. I was determined to keep control, but I wasn't sure that I could. I could feel the anger just beneath the surface, threatening to burst forth at any moment. A question came to my mind, "Dad?" He turned around with an eyebrow raised. "How bad was the damage I caused to Manhattan?"

He looked at the floor, "Uh, well, I guess you would find out sooner or later." He walked over to me and put his arm around my shoulder. "Your earthquake was the strongest on record. You actually moved the island of Manhattan to shift further out to see by a few yards."

I let that sink in for a second. "How is that possible? I'm just a regular demigod"

He shook his head, "You know it isn't as simple as that Percy. You've never been JUST a demigod. You are the strongest demigod that any of us have ever seen."

I looked at my hands, horrified with what they have done. "I'm a danger to this world. I shouldn't be left alive."

Poseidon turned me so I was looking him directly in the eyes. "Perseus Jackson, don't you ever say that. You have done so many great things in the short time you've been in this world. You are the greatest hero that I have ever seen and I am proud to call you my son."

I nodded, not believing his words, but choosing to agree so he would leave me alone for a while. He gave me another hug and then walked to the door. "The suit is in the closet over there. I'll be back in thirty minutes and we will head to the service. I'm really sorry for all of this Percy, we will get to the bottom of this."

When he finally left, I went to the closet and got the suit out. I got dressed slowly and silently. I looked around for the cuff-links but couldn't find any so I decided not to mess with it and rolled up the sleeves a bit. I left the room and found my dad. He grabbed me by the shoulder and we shot through the water like a torpedo. We surfaced at the cabin at Montauk, there were a lot of people there, all of whom I recognized as campers.

My mom had sort of become the adoptive mother of all the kids at camp, sending sweets and care packages as often as she could. Everyone loved her and she loved them. Paul had become the unofficial tutor to a lot of kids, helping them understand literature despite their dyslexia. So the entire camp came out to pay their final respects to them. When they saw me walk up, they all looked at me with such sadness and pity in their eyes. I hated the pity, I didn't want anyone to feel sorry for me, and they should hate me for bringing this fate on my mother.

Chiron walked up between the two pyres and clopped his hoof on the ground, quieting everyone. "We are all gathered here today, to send off two beloved people to this camp. Their end was brought on far too early. Sally Jackson was a kind soul who loved all children at this camp as if they were her own." Murmurs went around the group, everyone was nodding their heads. "Paul Blofis was a good man. One who was not born into this world, but brought in by Sally. He helped so many here, and other children in his job as a teacher."

He then allowed any campers to come up and say words of respect for my parents. A lot of people around me expected me to get up and say something, but I just couldn't. It was still hard to believe that my parents were actually gone. It was all I could do to just sit there and not start gripping my head screaming.

Once everyone had paid their respects, my father leaned over and said quietly. "It's time for your part. You don't have to if you don't think you can, but it was tradition in Ancient Greece for the surviving members of the family to place the drachma on their eyes for the ferry ride."

I wasn't sure that I could do it, but I thought about them sitting in Charon's lobby for a century. I couldn't do that to them. I nodded and slowly stood up, walking toward the funeral pyres. Chiron gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder when I got up there. I felt my father place the coins in my hand and I heard him step backwards. I walked up to Paul and put the coins on his eyes and said a silent prayer, asking his forgiveness.

Then I walked to my mom, tears streaming down my face. I laid my head down on her chest, sobbing. I was praying that she would wake up and tell me that this was all just a bad dream. That we would go back to their apartment, all of us, and enjoy blue cookies and laugh at how they had me going. But I knew that it was real, that she wasn't going to wake up. I lost track of how long I cried, no one tried to stop me. The whole group was silent when I raised my head. When I placed the coins on her eyes, I kissed her forehead and ran off away from the group.

It was getting dark by the time Frank and Hazel found me. When I saw them I wanted to tell them to leave me alone, but I saw how red their eyes where, how worried they looked and I just collapsed and we sat there in a group hug for a while. Eventually we composed ourselves enough for Frank to talk. "We should leave, we are due on Olympus soon for..."

He didn't need to finish the sentence. I nodded, "Yeah, thanks for finding me guys. You're the best." They nodded and they stood me up and we walked back toward the camp. There were chariots pulled by Pegesai, and at the lead chariot was my old friend Blackjack. I walked up to him and rubbed his neck, "Hey bud, long time."

 _Sorry boss, need anything? Donuts maybe?_

I chuckled, "Maybe later buddy, but thanks." He whinnied and I walked back to the chariot to join Frank and Hazel. As soon as we were all set, the flock of Pegesai took off for Olympus.

When we got to Olympus, the entire city was dimmed. It appeared like the whole place was in mourning. We landed in a courtyard and walked toward where a large crowd was gathering. When we got to the edge, I saw what was in the center, a funeral pyre what was large and beautiful. And laying on top of the pyre, a beautiful blonde girl with princess curls. I started to break down when I heard a woman' sconce behind me.

"Percy Jackson, I am glad you made it," I turned around and saw Annabeth's mother, Athena walking toward me with her hands behind her back. I bowed low and slow, trying to keep my calm. When I came up, I saw that Athena was not her usual proud, composed self. She looked normal, but the aura she put off was one of sadness and anger. "I have never really liked your relationship with my daughter, but you made her happy. You have my eternal gratitude for that."

"Thank you my lady, I hate to bring you more bad news, but did you know that Annabeth and I, we were..." I couldn't bring myself to say it. I still couldn't believe that it was true.

"Yes, I know that you two were expecting. I am truly sorry for your loss, I would have enjoyed seeing you two having a happy ending."

That made it even harder to stay composed, Athena had never talked to me like this. It just made the gravity of the situation even more apparent. She cleared her throat, "I did not just come here to give my apologies. I came here to give you something." She brought her hands forward and a small box was resting in her hands. When she opened it, were two cuff links, shaped like the owl earrings that Annabeth wore.

I took the box and held it in my hands like it would disintegrate at any given moment. "Thank you my lady. They look like..."

"They are exact replicas of Annabeth's earrings. They are magic, they will transform into rings. If you twist the one on your right hand, your eye sight will become better than an eagle's, the ring on your left hand will allow you to extend your hearing far beyond its normal limits. Consider it my way of helping you in your future endeavors."

"Future endeavors, my lady?"

She gave me a knowing look and looked toward the funeral area. When she looked back to me she smiled softly, "You will see soon enough son of Poseidon," then walked away.

I shrugged and took the cuff links out of the box and put them on my sleeves. When they were attached I walked to join Grover and my other friends. Grover was crying harder than me, and I put my arm around him. He knew Annabeth longer then I had, then he could feel my emotions about the situation. I felt horrible for the poor guy.

When everyone had been seated, Zeus came up to the funeral pyre and cleared his throat. "We have lost a great hero today. Annabeth Chase played a crucial role in saving Olympus, not only for the Titans, but from the Giants and Mother Earth as well. She was fierce, intelligent and she accomplished what no other child of Athena could accomplish before, she found and brought home the Athena Parthenos."

The speech was nice, but it was only of her accomplishments. It wasn't about how Annabeth actually was. When Zeus had finished his speech, the courtyard grew quiet. That's when Grover got up and walked to stand next to her.

He bleated, then started talking. "Annabeth was one of my best friends. I found her when she was seven years old, on the run with two other demigods. I never could have guessed the impact she would have on my life. She was the strongest person I've known, well until Percy came around. They were so alike in so many ways that it was scary." That brought a small chuckle from everyone, and more tears from me.

"Annabeth will be missed. I will miss her every day, but I know that if she were here, she would be yelling at us for feeling sorry for her. So I will choose to remember her for the good times that I had with her." He was looking right at me, and I could feel how he was pointing the words at me. Trying to give me comfort and advice. I nodded in appreciation, and he came back to sit next to me.

"Thanks G-man, I appreciate it," I whispered to him.

"Percy, you should say something," he said back. When I looked at him, he was serious. Before I could protest, he cut me off, "Percy, this is your last chance to say something to Annabeth. They believe that until the funeral is finished, the soul can still hear when people talk to them. Now get your butt up there and tell her good bye."

I nodded and stood up and walked toward the body of the girl that I love. I got close to her and I took a deep breath. "When I first saw Annabeth, I thought that she was a princess. I have never been so wrong in my life," chuckles spread through the crowd again. I looked to Grover and he motioned for me to continue. I looked through the crowd and saw all of my friends; Piper, Jason, Leo, Frank, Hazel and Nico. Then Reyna whose eyes looked a little red even though she was still composed. When I saw Thalia, who was not trying to hide any of her tears but wore them with pride, give me a thumbs up I got a little more courage.

"Annabeth was the best friend that I could ever have. We knew everything about each other, so much that we remained undefeated as a sparring team. I was never as intelligent or quick as she was, but I did my best to keep up. Other than my mother-" my voice cracked at the mention of her. I cleared my throat, "Annabeth was the only woman to ever put me in awe. I had hoped to start a life together. The day she, left us, she was going to tell me that we were about to start a family." I stopped talking for a minute to compose myself, calm the anger growing in my belly. "Annabeth wanted to build something permanent, and she succeeded. She will always be in my memories. When I disappeared and had my memory wiped, she was still there. I just hope that someday I will get to tell her how much she has meant to me all of these years. I know I will have to wait a while because her last words to me were a threat that if I met her in the underworld too soon she would kick my butt until the end of time." I let out a small laugh, which the rest of the crowd copied.

I turned to her body and I lowered myself and kissed her eyes, then her head. "I love you Annabeth, I am going to avenge you, and then I will see you in the next life. I won't forget you, and I won't forget my promise," I whispered in her ear, then I straightened up and put the golden drachma on her eyes and walked back to my seat by Grover.

At that point, Athena came up to the body of her daughter and said her final blessing. She then clapped her hands and a brilliant golden flame engulfed Annabeth's body and a second later, she was gone.

Jerking awake, I cursed slightly for the nightmares not giving me a single night of rest. Every night since _Akhlys_ I've had to relive those hellish moments. Looking around the bus station I took in my surroundings. The bus station appeared to be normal, no one was screaming or running around with a weapon trying to kill me. I looked at the time, 5:00 am, my bus towards Chicago was about to arrive, so I gathered my things together. I was headed toward the entrance to the Underworld in Los Angeles so that I could continue my mission to the underworld. I was worried about going back down there, but I had no other choice. I needed to meet with Hades, he had information I needed.

I checked my bag for the essentials; Annabeth's Yankee's hat, the rings Athena had given me and the photo that someone had taken of me, Annabeth and my parents when we were reunited after the Giant war. I knew Riptide would be in my pocket so I swung my bag over my shoulder and walked to the area with everyone else was standing. I probably looked like another homeless teen standing in line.

I hadn't showered in a week, and the clothes I had on were long overdue to be changed. My orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt was stained so much that it looked more brown than orange. My jeans were torn and stained from all the monster dust that got on them. My shoes were starting to fall apart and my jacket had more holes than Swiss cheese. I didn't care, I was on a mission to avenge Annabeth, my mother and Paul. I was going to willing to pay any price to do it.

I went over the information I had again. The day after Annabeth's funeral, Athena and Poseidon came to me and told me they had news. They acted very strange when they had told me that Akhlys wasn't acting alone. It was believed that she was working with some of the older gods, making Tartarus to grow out of control. Monsters hadn't been coming to the mortal world like they usually do and it was worrying the gods. The gods were wanting someone to go down and make things right, but they didn't ask me right out to go down. So I took it upon myself to go back to Tartarus and take out some of the monsters and instill fear back into them and let the older gods know who is really in charge.

I could tell they were holding back information, I tried to press on and get it out of them but they told me they couldn't because they swore an oath on the River Styx. They said I would learn in time what it was, but their hands were tied. I wanted to scream and yell, what if the information they weren't telling me was something vital, something I would need in Tartarus?

Normally, someone volunteering to go back to the living hell that is Tartarus would sound like some bad joke; but this was something that needed to be done, and I have a score to settle with a certain goddess of poison and suffering.


	2. Chapter 2: On the Road

When the bus pulled into the station in Chicago, I got off to switch buses. I had a layover of a couple hours before the next bus to St. Louis left so I figured I'd go out to do some hunting. I'd been cooped up for so long on that bus that I was feeling anxious. I went out into the city and went to the run down part of the city, where all the monsters like to hide.

It wasn't long before I found a group of five Cyclopes gathered around a fire, talking about all the people they've killed, the demigods they had eaten and just bad things in general. They were all occupied with some food, so they probably didn't smell me, they were sitting ducks.

I surprised them by sneaking up behind them and stabbing one in the back before they knew I was there. I stabbed another one in the chest before he realized what was happening. When the other three had stood up and realized what was going on, the one on the left snarled at me. "You'll pay for that demigod scum! Those were our brothers!"

"I saved the extra ugly ones for last then!" I yelled back. The one in the center bellowed a war cry then charged toward me, holding a large club that would have driven me into the ground like a nail.

I stepped away at the last second, stabbing my sword into his eye then went after the other two. I dodged a punch from one and turned around to cut downward with my sword on the neck of the other one. As soon as I brought my sword down, I got a weird chill down my spine. I quickly turned around just in time to see the final monster about to run me through with a small sword.

Had I been a second slower, I would have died. I didn't know where the chill came from, but I didn't have time to think about it too much. I knocked the blade from his hand and then shoved my swords deep in his chest.

After all the monster dust settled, I leaned up against a wall and cleaned off Riptide. As I leaned there, a thought kept running through my head. Where had that chill come from? It was like a warning at the last second from the gods. I decided to just forget about it, it was just something random.

I started walking back to the bus station and when I was a block away I heard a familiar voice behind me, the voice of my good friend Frank. "Percy, what are you doing man? We've been looking all over for you!"

I turned around and saw him walking toward me quickly. When he got close, he wrapped his giant arms around me and I returned the hug. "Sorry bud, I just... I got stuff I need to do."

He pulled back, "What stuff do you mean? You left almost immediately after the funeral. Did the gods send you on that quest already?"

I nodded, "Yeah, they need my help and this is important."

"You can't go on a quest like this alone Percy. Especially this one, where you're going... You barely made it out of there in one piece last time. Not to mention that this time you won't have..."

"You can say her name. I won't have Annabeth. You don't have to remind me Frank, but that is why I have to go. Akhlys has to pay for this. Her and whoever hired her to rip my family apart."

Thinking about my mission got my head hurting from all the thinking about plans, and how disappointed in me everyone was. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a round can and opened the lid. Frank had a confused look on his face, "What is that stuff?"

"It's chewing tobacco," I said shortly, pulling a dip out and put it in my bottom lip. "Helps me calm down and relax."

"Isn't that stuff really bad for you?" He asked.

"Don't really care, it helps keep me calm," I said shortly. "Lots of things trying to kill me these days, what's the harm in this?"

He looked disappointed, "Percy, please come back to camp with me. All of us are worried about you. Hazel has hardly slept since you left."

I felt sorry for Hazel, just another person suffering due to me. That was the last thing that I wanted. I shook my head, "Tell Hazel and the others to not worry about me, I'll be fine," I started walking away. I could feel my buzz starting in my head, and I didn't want it ruined by Frank worrying over me. But before I could get too far, Frank grabbed my shoulder firmly.

"Percy, please don't do this, we are your friends and we want to see you come home safely."

"What's the point? All I am good for is bringing pain and suffering toward everyone around me. You all would be much better off without me."

Frank let go of me, "Percy, what- what are you saying?"

"Don't worry about it Frank," I looked at my watch and saw that my bus would be arriving any minute so I started walking away toward the station. I turned to look back at him, "Thank you for finding me Frank, but please don't follow me. I need to be alone right now. Go back and tell the others that I'm fine."

He squared his shoulders up a bit, trying to look tough, "You know, Percy, you are still technically in the service of the Legion and I could, as your praetor, order you to come back to camp with me. If you refused, I could take you back by force."

I stopped and turned around, "But you won't do that Frank. That and, I would hate to hurt you, because I won't be coming with you."

His head hung slightly, "Percy, please don't do this."

"Sorry Frank, but this is something I have to do," I turned around and started back toward the station. I hated hurting the guy's feelings, but I had to do it. I couldn't have him following me, not where I was going.

I got to the station just in time to catch my bus. I plopped down on my seat and looked out my window, just in time to see Frank turn into an eagle and fly off. I laid my head back into the seat and just let my buzz take over my mind. Lately, this was the only escape that I had. When I had my buzz I didn't have as many nightmares, and I could get out of my own head.

When I woke up, the bus was stopping at Denver and people were getting their stuff to leave. I was supposed to stay on the same bus until I reached the next stop. I looked at my ticket and I saw the next stop was Las Vegas.

When I saw that, I had to get off the bus and find a different way to the underworld. Traveling the same route I took with Annabeth and Grover on our first quest was causing my brain to hurt.

I started walking through Denver, trying to figure out a way to travel. A few times, some bad looking guys came up to me to cause some problems, probably wanting my wallet. However, when they looked me in the eye, they couldn't run away fast enough.

I got to the edge of the city and saw a large park with a lot of nature spirits running around playing. I saw a friend among the spirits, and at first I thought about leaving without letting him know I was there. But before I could turn, he saw me out of the corner of his eye. He started running toward me, waving.

"Grover, how ya doing man?" I said, only halfway happy to see him. I didn't want to hurt another friend like I hurt Frank. But when he got to me, I wrapped my arms around him.

He pulled back out of the hug and said, "I've been looking for you man. What do you think you are doing?"

I dropped my arms and stepped away. "I'm doing what I can to fix the world... Again. How did you find me here anyway?"

"I'm not sure, I just had a voice in my head tell me to come here. It told me that you would be here, but that isn't the point. Percy, you know going on this quest alone is..." He faltered. We still had the empathy link, so did he know about my plans after I finished the quest? Did he know that I planned on ending it all after I beat Akhlys? I didn't want to worry him in case he hadn't guessed it.

"Grover, I can't ask anyone to put their lives in jeopardy by going down there with me," Grover looked down at the ground. He looked terrified, so I wanted to help him. "Look Grover, I know how hard it was on you last time I went down there. I don't want to put you through that again. Can you take away the empathy link?"

He looked like I was asking him to never talk to me again, and it killed me a little on the inside. The link with Grover had been there since I was 12, it was a part of me, but I couldn't subject Grover to the horrors of Tartarus again. And if my plans for after go like they should, I don't want Grover to suffer my fate as well.

"Grover, I don't want to lose the link to you, you are my best friend, but... I don't want to hurt you with what I'll see down there. Too many of my friends have suffered from me."

He grabbed me by the shoulders, "Percy, you have to stop blaming yourself for their deaths. They weren't your-"

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT THEY WEREN'T MY FAULT! You know that isn't true Grover! I pissed off the wrong God and this time, instead of just killing me, they killed people I love!" My voice cracked at the last word and I hid my face away. I cursed the tears that were springing from my eyes. I cursed them for showing my weakness. I hated yelling at Grover, but I couldn't control myself.

I felt Grover's hand on my shoulder again, "Percy, I'm sorry. I didn't want to upset you," I could hear the sadness in his voice. I heard him whisper some words that I didn't recognize. "The link is gone Percy. Percy, I know what you are thinking, what you have been thinking these past few days. Please, just try to forgive yourself. It's what she would want. It's what they all would have wanted."

I heard him walk away into the woods and I felt like he took my heart, the little bit that was left, with him. I stood up and wiped my eyes. I walked down the road and when I didn't find any way to travel other than stealing a car, I decided to call on my old friend. I let out a loud taxi cab whistle, and pretty soon I saw a familiar silhouette in the sky.

"Blackjack, how ya doing buddy," I felt a little happiness stir inside of me with the sight of my friend.

"Hey Boss," he said softly. "Long time, glad to see you."

I smiled a bit, "Yeah, sorry I haven't called ya in a while bud. I've been having a rough time. Not to mention the quest I'm on is pretty dangerous. I wouldn't want to drag you into this unless I had no alternative."

"Ah Boss, I'd follow you anywhere. No matter where it was," he nuzzled me and I couldn't help but feel like he knew where I was headed.

"Listen Blackjack, I'm headed toward Los Angeles, can you give me a lift?"

"Well, it just so happens that L.A. was the place I was headed. I heard they were looking for the handsomest horse ever to cast in a movie."

I smiled a bit, "Well, you are the horse for the job," I jumped onto his back and I gave his neck a pat. "Blackjack, you really are the best horse a guy could hope for."

He gave a bob of his head, "Thanks Boss, you are the best friend a horse could have."

I smiled a bit as he took off and we started flying west toward Los Angeles.


	3. Chapter 3: Another Dam Stop

**Chapter 3**

We were getting further west and the area looked familiar. Below I could see a large lake in the middle of the desert and a large concrete structure blocking up the lake. "Blackjack, is there a reason you brought us to the Hoover Dam? It isn't exactly on route to Los Angeles"

 _I'm not sure Boss, I just happened to go this way. Almost like I didn't have any control of my flight path_.

I decided to not to worry too much about it. As long as I could completed my quest I didn't care what path I took. I could hear Blackjack panting pretty hard, "Hey bud, what do you say we take a break here?"

 _I could go a lot longer Boss, but I ain't gonna argue with you if you want to make a donut stop_ , he said.

I figured that if Blackjack hadn't meant to fly this direction, then someone powerful wanted us to stop here. I figured I might as well discover who it was and what they wanted. We landed off to the side of the road where Blackjack could rest without anyone bothering him.

I started walking to the snack bar, "the dam snack bar _",_ I chuckled to myself. Thinking about the simpler times made my heart hurt. I couldn't believe how hard things had gotten. When I thought of looking for Zeus' stolen lightning bolt and looking for Annabeth who had been kidnapped by a Titan, _simpler times_ it was clear to me that things had changed.

When I got into the snack bar I ordered some food and waited to receive it. As I looked around I saw a woman that I saw last time I was here. She had dark hair pulled back into a braid and piercing gray eyes. She wasn't wearing a Park Ranger's uniform this time, but I could tell who it was right away. I told the girl behind the counter that I would be back in a second and left to talk to the woman.

As I walked out the door the woman was standing at the end of the edge of the crowd. She backed into the shadow, away from everyone's eye-sight. I followed her and when I turned the corner, I saw Athena looking over the side of the dam toward the lake. She had a a look on her face that showed her pain. I could also see how conflicted she felt at disobeying the rule of not interfering with a hero's quest, but I could tell that she didn't care. When I walked up next to her, she didn't turn to look at me but took in a deep breath.

"This was were I first helped you when it came to my daughter. Only that time, I was helping you save her. This time I'm helping you avenger her."

"Don't worry my lady, I am going to avenge Annabeth. Nothing is going to stop me from beating Achlys. Even if I have to beat Tartarus himself to get to her."

She looked at me, "I don't think that will be necessary. Hypnos has informed us that the reason Achlys became stronger because Nyx has started urging her children that they need to go out and wreak havoc on the world. She wants mortals to fear her again."

"So if I beat up her children, then she should back off?" I said in a hopeful tone.

She looked at me, slightly amused, "Perseus Jackson, you've been on how many quests? Shouldn't you know that we immortals are never that easy?"

I chuckled and turned to look at the lake, "I guess that's fair. If she doesn't back off, I guess I will have to kick her ass and teach her a lesson. Even if it kills me."

She looked at me with sympathy. "try not to get yourself killed Percy. My daughter would not want you to die," she said softly. She continued to look at me, "I don't think Annabeth would appreciate this new habit you picked up either."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Picking a fight with every single monster you come across. Putting yourself in the path of danger whenever you can, throwing your life away."

"I'm sorry my lady, but it's my life, and I gotta do what I gotta do to get through the day. Annabeth was my everything, we were going to start a family together. My family died that day, my-" my voice cracked on the last word. I cleared my throat, "My child died with Annabeth. She was my soulmate and I can't go on without her." I looked out over the lake, trying to compose myself.

She lowered her head, "I'm sorry Perseus, I severely misjudged you. I used to think you were not good for my daughter, but it seems that you were, in fact, the perfect person for her. I promise you, that after this quest, you will get a fitting reward for the savior of the world."

When I turned to look at her, she was gone. "Typical goddess," I said. I started walking back to the snack bar to get my food. I reached out with my mind to find Blackjack. " _Hey Blackjack, you still close by?"_

 _You know I wouldn't leave you behind boss. You ready to go?_

 _"Yeah I'll be over there in a few minutes. Sound good?"_

 _No problem boss._

I went in and grabbed my food and start walking toward him. I started eating some of my food as I walked, I hadn't realized how hungry I had been. I was eating some fries while looking out over the lake, when all of a sudden I was tackled by, what seemed like semi-truck. "Big brother! I have found you!"

I turned my head a little bit to see Tyson hugging me from behind. He had a huge smile on his face and his one eye had tears streaming from the edges. "Hey big guy, mind putting me down? I think you are crushing my lungs."

He set me down and I turned to face him, "How did you find me Tyson? I didn't even plan on being here."

"Mrs. O'Leary picked up your scent, she brought me here. I have missed you,"

"Yeah, I've missed you too buddy," I said as I gave him a pat on his shoulder.

He lowered his head, "Goat boy told me about the danger you are going to. I made something for you to stay safe."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bronze necklace. The necklace had a pendant on it with a small etching in it of me and Annabeth. "It is like the watch, put it on and hit it."

I grabbed the necklace and slid it over my head. The pendant rested right in the center of my chest. I looked down at it and held it between my fingers, admiring the craftsmanship to it. "Thank you Tyson, it's amazing," I said looking up at him.

"Hit it," he said agin.

I slapped the pendant with the flat of my palm. Instantly bronze plates sprung from the tiny pendant and slapped around my shoulders and behind my back. When it was all done I looked down and I had a full bronze chest piece. There was a trident molded into the chest. It was thick armor but it was so light that it was almost as if it wasn't there.

"Tyson, thank you. This is perfect. I won't take this off, I promise."

He nodded, "I wish I could go with you, protect you from bad monsters."

"I know buddy, but this place that I'm going to, it's not a nice place."

"I know, daddy told me that it is the place you and Annabeth went during the war. Just be careful big brother. I do not want you dead."

I looked down at the ground, blinking to keep the tears away. I didn't want to think about how this would most likely be the last time I saw Tyson. I had to keep a brave face for him. "I will do my best buddy. I just gotta get back on the way to California."

I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him tight. "Thank you for everything Tyson. Make sure that Mrs. O'Leary is taken care of okay?"

"I will, you be sure to come back alive to see me and Ella and everyone else at camp."

I nodded, "I'll do my best."

I broke the hug and walked toward Blackjack, not daring to look back at him. I knew that if I looked back at him I wouldn't be able to keep going on the path I was on. I got to Blackjack and without saying anything I jumped onto his back.

 _Come on Blackjack! We gotta get out of here._

 _You got it Boss!_

And with that, he took off, headed toward California at top speed.


End file.
